Remaining Hopeful
by stylish-kid-in-the-riot
Summary: Following Jonah who is bound to the house after being burned there, until another "dead" boy... Matt Campbell... moves in. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Boy Wonder**

**Description:** This is a story about Jonah, his spirit has been roaming the Aickman home since he was burned there, unable to move on and bound here...until another "dead" boy Matt Campbell and his family moves in.

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing to do with this story except my ideas and some characters I may introduce.

**Authors Notes: **I know I have "In One Piece" still sitting there incomplete, and I lost motivation for writing due to personal circumstances, but this story has been in my mind for a while now. I hope you enjoy.

Chapter one will mostly be from Jonahs POV, starting from the séance scene and up until the Campbell family move in. This a short chapter just to test the water so to speak...

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Chapter 1

I sat there looking around the table at the people who were here to see me perform my medium-ship They were here to see 'Jonah the boy medium'. This time felt different, I didn't like the feelings I was getting, but I knew if I didn't go through with it there would be hell to pay.

Mr Aickman had enhanced my powers twice now, I didn't like how he'd done it, and I'd tried to run away after the first time, but he caught me as I tried to escape the house and dragged me back down to the basement. I didn't know where I would have gone if I'd managed to escape, Mr Aickman had saved me from a life in an asylum you see, as my parents thought I was crazy when I started speaking about seeing dead people.

I could feel all that enhanced, borrowed and stolen power running through me now.

"Join hands please ladies and gentlemen" Mr Aickman said. I looked at the people sitting to my left and right, and then at the rest of the people around the table again. I then looked at Mr Aickman, trying to convey my feelings of unease at this to him, but he gave me look that said I should just carry on.

Everyone began joining hands and as I took the hands of the people on either side of me it was almost instantly that I could feel the spirits drawing near and tying to come through me. I tried to control it, I tried to hold on and slow it down, but he'd made me too powerful. I couldn't hold it and I felt myself slipping away just as I saw the table coming up to meet my face. It felt like I was choking, and I couldn't breathe properly. I opened my eyes and saw this dark substance in front of my face, I could feel it and taste it in my throat. It started to burn, and I suddenly felt one hundred times more uneasy. I could see flames begin to appear in the darkness of the substance, which was growing all the time. The flames burst outwards as I seen one of the girls Mr Aickman had used to enhance my powers. Then everything went blank.

As I came to I smelled burning. I opened my eyes and I was on the floor, each of the people who had been at the table were also on the floor, but they were completely burned to the point that they were black. I stood up and saw Mr Aickman lying on the floor. I wasn't sure what I should do, but I felt the bad presence still in the house.

"Sir?" I asked, bending down beside him.

He looked up at me and said "They'll be after you now. Get out".

I stood up and as I walked past the table it began to shake and flew towards me, just missing pinning me against the wall. I ran up the stairs as the walls began to change to darkness. I could feel it following me. Every door that I tried was locked. I ran into the only open door I found, and before I knew it I was crawling through something that resembled a tunnel. I hadn't been in this room before and I didn't know what it was. As I crawled through I screamed for help. There was an opening at the end of this 'tunnel', and as I crawled towards it, the door slammed shut. I was trapped. I again shouted for help as I tried to open the door. Then the flames started behind me and at the side of me. I screamed again but no-one came. This was the last sound to leave my mouth. This was were I died.

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Then there was nothing but silence, peace and light... the light slowly faded to darkness, and the peace became restlessness, and the silence was invaded with voices and screams. It felt like I was being pulled by lots of invisible hands.

"Jonah" the voices called, all of them were calling my name, all at different times. I tried to hold onto the place where I felt at peace. They were stronger, and this was new to me at the time.

The next thing I knew was that I was back in the basement of the house. I was in shock. It looked the same...but different. There was no table, no curtains, all the furniture was gone from here. The voices surrounded me again. "Jonah... never leave.... stay....with us...." they said in unison. It was hard to pick the words out, as the different voices said them at the same time. They then disappeared.

I walked towards the door, and as I tried to open it my hand glided through the door handle, and through the door. I braced myself, squeezing my eyes shut in case it backfired badly, and I walked towards the door. I opened my eyes when I felt nothing and found that I was in the stairwell which led down to the basement. I explored the rest of the house and I found that it too was the same, but different. All of Mr Aickmans furniture was gone from the rest of the house, and also from my bedroom.

Through the years I tried many ways to move on, including a few I'd read about when I was studying Medium-ship Nothing worked. I was trapped here. I knew why. It was because of what I'd done with Mr Aickman. I discovered that the spirits of those Mr Aickman had used to enhance my powers thought I was a willing participant. Those spirits were also bound to the house. These spirits were restless ones though. They were not at peace with what had happened to them. I'd tried ways of getting them to move on too, but they wanted to stay, they were angry and wanted someone to pay for what had happened to them.

Many families came and went in through the years. Most had children, I watched over the families as best as I could, but I could never be strong enough to fight off the spirits of all bodies people Mr Aickman had carved and bound for me. Most of the families couldn't see me, some of the children could and when they spoke of "the boy with the dark hair who comes through the walls" the parents thought I was to blame for the plates smashing, bulbs breaking, furniture moving and flashing lights in their home. All moved out almost as quickly as they'd moved in.

There was one lady who could see me, and she spoke to me quite regularly. She was in her eighties, and lived with her family. She knew she was dying an believed I was some kind of guide sent to help her pass over. I did help her to pass over, and she moved on quickly, but I didn't go with her, I was bound here. Her family moved out within two weeks of her passing.

The house lay empty for quite some time, and a man came in and decorated in and brought in new furniture. I wondered why he never stayed the night, then the next day as I looked out the window I seen him hammering a post into the grass. A lady pulled up in her car and spoke to him. I smiled for the first time in a long time when I seen this lady. I liked the feeling I got from her and she hadn't even come inside the house yet.

She came in with the man and he showed her around. I heard the lady, who's name was Sarah, say that she had a son who had something called cancer and that he was being treated nearby.

I knew something she didn't know, her son, Matt Campbell, was dying, and I'd be able to reach him...

For the first time since I felt the peace and quiet after I'd passed over, I felt like everything was going to be okay....

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There's the first chapter... please let me know what you think...good or bad.....


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing to do with this story except my ideas and some characters I may introduce.

**Authors Notes: **Wow! That's all I can say... just wow. I'm so glad you guys enjoyed this story, I'm sure I replied to all who reviewed. This was my first piece of writing that I have done from a characters POV, and I was nervous about posting it, so thanks for how well it was received.

I'm probably gonna stick with Jonah / Matt POV for the rest of the story now, it just seems to work so much better for writing it with the angle I'm taking. The story will pretty much follow the film, with a few extras / flashbacks added in.

**Finally: **In my haste to post the first chapter, I forgot to edit it properly... this one will be edited!

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**Chapter 2**

Sarah and the man – I hadn't bothered to learn his name – walked around the house, he was showing her around. I really hoped she took the house, and I hoped that I would be able to right all the wrongs done in this house. I had tried a few times, but I hadn't been able to communicate properly and the families had all moved out pretty quickly. I stood looking over the banister from upstairs at them in the hallway underneath. I'd heard Sarah say to him that the house was cheap and she was wondering where the catch was. _"If only you knew" _I thought. The answered her by saying " Well, it does have a bit of a history".

I turned and walked back into my room, it hadn't truly been mine for many years now, what with all the people who had moved in and out and who had used my room, but it still felt like home to me. I felt safest when I was in there. I had only gone back into the basement a few times since I died, and even then, I hadn't gone into the room where Mr Aickman worked on the bodies. I couldn't bring myself to go in there. I felt too guilty for those poor souls, even though I hadn't been a willing participant. The feelings I got from the basement were enough to tell me that they blamed me just as much as Mr Aickman for what happened to them.

During the time I'd been trapped in the house, I had learned how to control and focus my energy. I learned that I could move things, open and close doors, play with the lights and electricity, and that I could make myself appear physically when I wanted to. I could do all the things the angry spirits could do, but I was still never going to be able to completely hold them off and protect anyone who lived here. I'd learned that as I said earlier.

I wondered how I could protect Sarah and her family from them. I'd felt it from her when she first came into the house, she had a close family, I didn't want them to get hurt or broken up here, which had happened to previous families.

I started thinking back again... I'd been trapped in the house for so many years that I'd gone over practically everything I remembered from my living life. I had no real memories from my spirit life, all I'd spent it doing was walking around this house and watching over the families who had lived here.

My memory took me back to Elizabeth, the lady who was dying – I'd figured out a good while before then that the only people I could communicate with and show myself to were children and those who were dying. She knew about the angry spirits in the house, and had warned her family of them. They'd thought it was a symptom of her illness, but I knew it wasn't, I really felt sorry for her. She didn't know my name, I couldn't speak to the living, even if they were close to death, but she said I had expressive eyes and a kind smile...

The memory was interrupted as the angry spirits tried to make me relive the last night of my life, as they liked to do. They wanted me to turn into an angry spirit, and for me to be a restless and not at peace as they were. They showed me what happened to them, with me standing beside Mr Aickman as he done his work on them to enhance my powers. They showed me fire... I knew fire was the only way to free them and myself from this nightmare and this house, but the fire they showed me was never real... and it reminded me too much of the one that had killed me. Then the fire died away and I was standing in my room again.

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I heard the front door opening and the man from earlier came into the house again. I followed him through the house as he went, it was dark and this was when the angry spirits liked to do their work best. He switched on the lights, brought in something the other families had called a TV and some blankets and a mattress He left again and locked the door behind him.

A little while later the man came back, I saw him drawing up in his car from the window, but he didn't come in. Then another car pulled up behind him. Sarah stepped out of the car and walked to the back door and helped someone out. I guessed this was Matt, he looked pretty sick and he reminded me of Elizabeth in a lot of ways. I knew I'd be able to communicate easily with him. I wondered if the condition that took Elizabeth was called Cancer. They walked up to the house and I heard muffled voices on the other side of the door. They came in and I knew this was Matt. This was the boy I had to protect.

After Sarah and Matt got into the house and settled, the man left. I watched as Sarah helped Matt over to the mattress in the sitting room, and he put on the television. I stood in the doorway watching him, I didn't want to get too close to him on their first night in the house. Sarah was talking into the telephone, and I heard her say how she had to come back here as Matt was in pain, and that she liked the house. I hoped it stayed that way, that she liked this house. Matt turned off the TV and turned around. I walked away and left him to sleep.

I watched Sarah as she continued to speak into the telephone. Her conversation hadn't seemed like it was a pleasant one, and I'd heard her say many times through the call that again, she didn't really have a choice, and that the person she was speaking with wasn't there so they wouldn't have known what it was like. When she ended the call she started to cry. She went into the sitting room and lay down on the mattress beside her son and she went to sleep here.

When I looked at Matt I realised that the angry spirits had gotten to him already, they hadn't wasted any time. I tried to focus and eventually I found myself inside his mind, and I tried to hold off the dream they were trying to force him to have. It worked for a while, but I found myself losing control of it, and then I was watching his dream. He dreamed about walking through the house and into the basement, which I didn't like. He seen one of the women whose body Mr Aickman had used behind the glass to the room where he worked on the bodies. He then woke up.

Sarah was standing over Matt and asked if he was alright, he said that it was only a nightmare and that he was fine. I watched the two of them as they talked and moved around the house. Sarah had told him to pick any room he wanted, and I had hoped he would pick my room, I'd have been able to protect him better there. I followed him around the house and went down to the basement. Despite the fact I didn't like it down there now, I followed him down. Sarah came down and Matt told her he picked this for his bedroom. I was shocked, usually no-one liked it down here now, they must have really gotten to him. As they both tried to look through the glass into the room where Mr Aickman done his work, the door knocked, the rest of the family had arrived.

The two younger children ran into the house and up the stairs, they both wanted to race to pick their rooms. A girl, who Sarah had called Wendy, shouted up to them. Matt was outside with his dad so I followed Sarah and Wendy around. Sarah said she'd found the perfect room for Wendy, which was my room. I stood in the corner and watched them as Sarah commented about how nice the room was. As she opened the door to the closet I was reflected in the mirror, I didn't like my appearance, I was charred and burned, completely black. I knew sometimes I appeared like this, but it never failed to shock me. I got out of the room before they saw me.

The family spent the rest of their day moving their things in and getting to know the house. I followed them around and got to know each of them better. I liked this family already and they'd only moved in. I felt like things would get better, it almost like hope, but I didn't have hope anymore, the other spirits had seen to that many times.

A while later, Sarah was cleaning the floor in the basement when I followed Matt back down there. I knew that I would have to spend a lot of time down here, and although I didn't like the room, I knew I had to protect this boy. The angry spirits wasted no time at all, and things began to pick up pretty quickly. I realised I'd have make my presence known to Matt rather quickly too. I saw what the angry spirits showed him, that the area Sarah had cleaned was bloody, and that she was only putting more blood on it every time she put the mop into the bucket. He shouted to get her attention, and when he looked again everything was fine. Matt went for a sleep about an hour later, and the children played around the house. Sarah and Peter – who was Matts father – fixed more of their belongings into place. I went back to the basement and watched Matts dream, but it was peaceful and they didn't try to force anything into his mind.

Later that day, when Matt got up Sarah was making dinner and he helped her. He put the dishes onto the table, and the angry spirits made a noise in the hallway. As he looked up, I knew I had to test my energies. I moved the dishes back to where he had lifted them from to get his attention. He questioned Sarah about it, and I moved them back to the table. As he turned round to lift them from the shelf I tipped them from the table and they smashed onto the floor. I know it may sound silly, but I was pleased with myself. My energy was stronger and I had stopped the angry spirits from getting to Matt.

Sarah told Peter what had happened with the dishes and he said it was fine, he would do a Barbecue with burgers, both of which I had never heard of before. I watched from the window as he set it up and took the food outside. I looked through the window in the kitchen as Matt sat on the stairs outside the house while his father and the two children played in the garden. The feelings I got from Matt felt like he was so lost and alone. I wished I could offer him some comfort, but I couldn't go outside.

Peter stood at the grill and spoke to Matt about a time when he was younger and they used to go camping. He was speaking about Matt counting stars. Matt said something about the stars we see are already dead. His father knew what he was referring to. He replied that "they look pretty alive" to him.

Matt said "That's because they have gotten the news yet" as he stood up and walked back into the house.

As he walked past me coming back into the house I sensed it. He knew he was dying, and he knew he didn't have a long time left. I knew then that I'd have to work even more quickly and that the angry spirits would also be working harder against me and against Matt.

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**.Notes:**

There we have chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it! It was from Jonahs POV again, if you'd like me to write some Matt POV from now on too, please let me know as I'm unsure if I should do it or not. Since you guys have been so great to me so far I'll leave it in your capable hands!

Please let me know what you think, good or bad.


	3. Authors note please read

Authors Note:

Hi Guys,

Just a note to let you all know that I haven't abandoned this story, and that I have no plans to stop writing it, I fully intend to see it through to completion.

Real life has sadly gotten in the way and I sadly lost my aunt (who was like a grandmother to me) to cancer a few weeks ago, and things have been pretty hectic in our family.

I'd lost my motivation to write for a while, due to the subject matter of the movie/story, but I will be updating fairly soon (within the next week), I PROMISE.

Thanks to you all who have taken the time to read this so far, and especially to those who have reviewed it... it means so much that you are enjoying my work. I don't want to let you down.

Sorry if you thought this was an update, but I had to let you know that I haven't stopped working on this.


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